Law and judiciary
Elephant poachers arrested in Ngapudaw, Myanmar
Two members of an elephant-poaching gang have been arrested in Ngapudaw township in Ayeyarwady Region’s Pathein district, but at least one other person associated with the group remains at large, the Department of Forestry said in a statement released on 13 October. Keep reading ...
Vietnam's small businesses not investing in tech apps, security
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Hanoi are neglecting to use information and technology applications and information security, said Dang Vu Tuan, vice director of Hanoi’s Department for Information and Communications. Tuan said SMEs account for about 95 per cent of the city’s 117,000 enterprises, but only ...
Vietnamese arrested in Mondolkiri smuggling timber
Two Vietnamese nationals were arrested in Cambodia’s Mondolkiri province as they attempted to cross the border back into Vietnam on 8 October in a tour bus loaded with high-grade timber, authorities said 11 October. Keep reading ...
Thailand to try US journalist for carrying flak jacket
A Thai court has decided to put an American photojournalist on trial for possession of a bulletproof vest and a helmet, which are considered weapons in Thailand. Keep reading ...
Thai PM calls for calm after Phuket street riots
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has pledged justice after the weekend’s Phuket riot sparked by the deaths of two young men, as probes were launched to find the facts behind the province’s worst street violence in recent years. Government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said Gen Prayut promised ...
Two Vietnamese vessels seized by Thailand
Two Vietnamese fishing vessels, equipped with destructive fishing gear, were seized and 11 crewmen arrested for illegally fishing in Thai waters off Narathiwat on 10 October. Keep reading ...
Rohingya trafficking victims endure stress of limbo, stranded in Thailand
The strapping 23-year-old Rohingya Muslim was matter of fact as he described being forced onto a boat in Myanmar for a tortuous two-month-long journey, beaten and kicked by traffickers as he watched scores die of starvation and thirst along the way. He said he was abandoned in ...
Wife of jailed Lao activist asks Poland’s justice ministry for help with extradition
The wife of a jailed Polish citizen of Lao heritage has asked Poland’s justice ministry to request the Lao government to transfer her husband from a detention center in the Southwestern Asian nation to one in his European home country. Barbara Paklak-Thammavong told RFA’s Laos Service ...
Myanmar fishermen agree to return to Indonesia for long-sought justice
Fishermen who had been enslaved and abused onboard illicit trawlers plying far-flung Indonesian islands will soon be headed back to the nation where they were held captive for up to a decade. This time they’re after justice, and will take part in a lawsuit against one ...
Another Areng Valley activist arrested
A prominent Areng Valley activist joined three other environmentalists in jail on 7 October in Koh Kong after being questioned at the provincial court about alleged “forest crimes”. Ven Vorn, 36, a community representative and commune councillor with the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, was arrested at the ...